We all put a great deal of trust and confidence in medical professionals. Whenever we need some treatment or medication, the very first person we will approach is a doctor or other medical professional. However, doctors are just humans and are prone to commit errors as well. According to the website of Abel Law Firm, negligence of a doctor and medical personnel can lead to serious injuries on your part.

In the medical field, doctors can commit either negligence or malpractice. While these two terms both refer to errors committed by one who is in the medical field, they are actually two different terms. Medical negligence refers to failure of the medical personnel to exercise reasonable care that a prudent person would have done in similar circumstances. On the other hand, malpractice refers to negligence by a licensed professional to provide services according to the standards set by the governing body.

Another element that can make medical negligence malpractice is “intent.” If the doctor has knowledge that he had to do something to treat the patient but did not do so with the knowledge that failure could result to injury or harm to the patient, then he can be liable for medical malpractice. Negligence, on the other hand, does not involve the element of intent. While the failure to treat in itself is negligence, it cannot be considered as malpractice since there was no intent to harm or they did not know that the patient might get harmed.

Medical negligence happens when a nurse accidentally leaves a sponge inside a surgical wound. There was no intention to harm the patient so it would be considered medical malpractice. Having a qualified attorney can help determine whether a doctor who made an error on your treatment committed medical malpractice or medical negligence.